Fanfic collab
by Jorrdkarrd
Summary: Group project for university.


Fanfiction collaboration

Year 30 in district 6 the Island

Part 1 - Daniel

I was a young woman in my early twenties. I was born the eight hunger game and today I have reached the age of twenty two. My height and my athletic appearance make most women, and some men, inferior in my present. Standing in a crowd of other women I am usually almost a head taller than everyone else with my five foot eleven inches. My well ironed shirts sit tight around my muscular back as well as my pants around my fit thighs. The weight of 170 pounds has given me status as a force to be recognized with. All though my physical appearance is what meets the eye, it's my bright splendid mind that made me who I am today, an up and coming leader within the hierarchy of the republic. Ever since I was a young teenager at the beginning of my adult life, I had the ability to read other people's minds. To know what they desire or fear, even before they knew it themselves. That has become a feature that is proven to be my top weapon in my career. A feature well hidden from my antagonist who only see my strong physical appearance and my black skin. It seems as the only way I am perceived by others are muscles only and no brains.  
My ancestors from Africa was abducted from their land and were sold as slaves in the Islands. The bloodline that have led here till where I am today. The crystal blue water surrounding the Island had the same colour as my eyes and in contrast to my dark complexion I am a sight for sore eyes. A nose ring and the traditional six district tattoos adorn my body. The family had a long tradition of working for the republic, but no one had been close to my promising future within the ranks. Generations of upper working class always striving for more and better lives but never achieve the class trips they eager for. As my mother and her mother before her I attended the regional republic university, where you are formed into pre-set human shapes to serve the republic.

I stand on the cliff, at the very south end of the Island, watching the waves crashing into land, as the sun sets in the ocean. I feel the wind in my face, and I shut my eyes as the warm breeze embraces my body. Even though I have never visited other places this is the most beautiful place in the world. I feel warm inside thinking of our solid rock island.

It was time to get home. Darkness has spread over the land and the streetlights are not working as often as you would wish for. Power is a scarce resource for the districts, even so for a district as ours. The capitals power distributions focus is not on the district, they need the power for their own needs to contribute to their high level of technology, something we don't. As long as we have enough power for broadcasting the Hunger Games, that is the most important thing, and when that happens, we will have power.

Every night I take the pills, one pill every night before bedtime.

I walk through the door of my home and locked the door behind me, a warm familiar feeling hits me. I walked to the bathroom and turned on the light. The flickering light from the vague bathroom light filled the room. Outside I hear the crickets play. I open the top cabinet door and reach for the white container of pills and close it again. I open up the lid as I carefully watch my face in the mirror. I lean forward when I feel the earth shaking. The room is shaking uncontrollable as I feel my heart stop. I fell on the ground and hitting my head on the wall behind me and faints.

When I woke up the earth had stopped shaking and everything was quiet. Not even the birds were singing, and the crickets had stopped playing their insistent sound. I am lying on the bathroom floor contemplating the mess my home had turned into. The furniture had fallen down, the mirror was in a million pieces and the bathroom sink had a large crack that had split it in two. I felt the back of my head with my hand and felt a huge swelling and some dried-up blood in my hair. I sat up and leaned against the wall and tried to grasp reality. My head was pounding from a splitting headache as I stood up. All the sudden I remembered why I was in the bathroom, the pills, I had held them in my hand just before the earth started to shake. I look around me for the white plastic container with the pills. I started to clear up the mess as a looked for it. Finally, I found it and pick it up. The lid was off and no pills inside. I counted the days and realize that there should have been 3 pills that would last me through the rest of the week. Damn! I get down on the floor on all four and searches thoroughly as the panic starts to emerge. I turned the entire bathroom upside down, but they are nowhere to be found. They had likely been pulverized when the room came crashing down and they got mixed up with all the dirty and concrete. I am not the type of person who loses stuff and especially not the pills. Going to the pharmacy and ask for more pills is something that would be both embarrassing and degrading. I continued to search for another half an hour, but it is pointless, they are nowhere to be found. Fuck fuck fuck. Okay, three days without pills is manageable, it is not like a week. I walked outside and sat down trying to calm down. The bird has started to sing again, and I felt my heart rate slowing down.

I went back in again and lay down on my bed to sleep.

Part 2 - Hadi

Three days without taking the drug were enough for my body to start realising that something is missing, something needs to be taken. I have been taking this drug since I was chosen to serve the capital at the age of twelve, my mind and body are addicted and controlled by this drug. I couldn't sleep for three days, every time I close my eyes nightmares haunted me. Everyone I killed appeared in my dreams.

"what is happening to me?!" I asked myself with panic, "who are these people" I did not realise that these people appearing in my dreams are the ones I killed.

my mind started to wake up, it started breaking the chains of the 'Capital'.

"I don't know what is happening, but maybe with some training I will get better" I said to myself on my way to the training camp.

"Good morning, Xavy" a tall muscled guy with a long beard said to me. I kept walking to the shooting range without answering or even looking at Denver. Denver felt so choked, he knew something bad has happened.

Denver is a tall, strong and handsome guy, he is my best friend. Denver and I have known each other's since I attended the training camp. We always looked out for each other's and we were very close friends. Denver is an orphan who always wanted a family, I was his only family. He always cared about me and took care of me.

"What's up Xavy, you didn't sleep well last night?" Denver said with an intention to open a conversation with me. I didn't reply to Denver while I was aiming my gun to at the target. "I'm sure thinking of me gave you insomnia ha-ha" Denver said trying to break my concentration. "Leave me alone, can you just leave me alone!" I shouted at Denver. "wow, wow, calm down, I have never seen you in such a bad mood before" Denver said with a confused face. "I will leave you alone, but you have to tell me about all of this later" Denver said while he was leaving. "Oh my God, why did I act like this with Denver" I asked myself. "What's happening to me, I can't take this anymore" talking to myself with frustration.

At the cafeteria I didn't sit with Denver as usual, I took the table at the corner to be alone. Denver felt that something weird was happening with me and he have to do something about it. He took his tray and went to sit with me, "why are you sitting alone Xavy?" Denver said it while he took a seat and putting his foot on the table. "Can you just leave me alone?" I shouted while hitting Denver´s food tray to the floor and left the cafeteria. Denver was shocked, everyone was staring at him. "There is nothing to look at" Denver shouted angrily at everyone in the cafeteria.

I went to my bed and started crying, it was the first time a tear falls from my eye since I attended this camp. Since I was twelve, I started taking this drug, my emotions were isolated. I was merciless, I never used my emotion before. It was very weird for me to get so emotional and cry. I hided my head under my blanket, I didn't want anyone to see me in this situation. After a while I fell asleep.

I am not used to dream, the drug that I took built a wall that avoided me from dreaming. Now this wall is broken, I am dreaming. For twelve years this poor girl didn't have the right to dream, and today she is regaining it.

"Xaviera, sweetie, I miss you so much" an affectional voice called me in my dream. I started to look around searching for this voice. "Xaviera, I am here" the voice said again. I eagerly search for the voice; I felt a feeling I never felt before. Near the river was standing a woman with black hair, blue eyes and coffee black skin. This woman looked like me but in an older version. "Come closer sweetie, come" the woman said to me. I approached slowly to the woman. "Who are you?" I asked. "I´m your mother, sweetie, I'm you mother". "My mother?" I was confused and my heartbeats started to accelerate. "Yes, I´m your mother" the woman replied with a calm voice filled with love. I didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do but to hug that woman.

"Wake up you silly rat!" a voice interfered in my dream suddenly. "Wake up!" One of my roommates was waking me up. I opened my eyes, but deep down inside me, I didn't want my dream to end. "What do you want" I asked my roommate angrily. "It's not time to sleep now, we have a meeting with the captain".

I got out of my bed and washed my face, I looked at my face in the mirror "oh my God, how much I looked like my mother" I said to myself. "What happened since I stopped taking that drug, I have changed" I said to myself. "It has to be that drug, it stripped me from my emotions. "Denver, oh my God, I have to tell him all about this". I ran searching for Denver. "Here you are" I said to Denver. "How are you feeling now Xaviera" Denver asked. "Never felt better, I have to tell you something but promise me to believe me and do as I say" I said. "Glad to hear that, I always believe you Xaviera and I will do anything for you". "Well… the story started when I didn't take my drug" i continue with telling him what happened and what I experienced. Since Denver trusts me, he agreed to stop taking the drugs. Three days later, Denver went through all the phases that I went through, his brain broke the chains of the drugs and he was now in control of his emotions and actions.

It's Saturday night, in district 6 they have curfew. On Saturdays the Capital does a total check on the district´s security and no one is allowed to go out from their homes. Patrols fill the district, if anyone gets caught out will be shoot on sight, even if an old man or a new-born baby.

The patrols are usually divided into a captain and three other soldiers. Me, Denver, Captain Berdan and a third member went out on patrol. It was cold and dark that night, we had the jungle to patrol. While we were walking through the woods the third member heard a voice coming from the bushes. "Stop, I heard something" the third member said with a merciless voice. I approached slowly through the bushes, and there I found a little girl holding her doll and shaking do death. "Shh…" I said with my finger on my mouth while I was trying to come closer to the girl. The third member pointed his gun at the little girl. "Bang, bang, bang" Three bullets were shot. Blood was all over my face. I was shocked when the third member kneels and hits the ground. The moment when the third member pointed his gun, Denver knew that the merciless soldier will shoot that poor little girl. Denver knew that he must act fast, he shoots that soldier with three bullets, one in his head and two in his chest. Denver pointed his gun at the captain "put your gun down, or I will shoot you captain, please don't make me do that" Denver said with a serious voice. "Calm down son, calm down, it seems that you have broken your leash and stopped taking the drug" Burden said with a smile on his face. Denver and I looked surprisingly at each other, "how did you know that?" I asked. "put your guns down and let us take this poor child to her family. "I have stopped taking this shit for a long time" Berdan said. "Now guys, we have a lot of things to talk about" Berdan said on their way to the child's family.

Part 3: The Truth (Toby)

At this point I didn't know if I was about to burst out in tears or laughter. _Are there more of us who aren't mindless drones in our regiment?_

_And… can people tell that I'm… different? Is it illegal to feel?_

Although we kept a steady pace, I found myself stopping now and then to gaze at the landscape. Green hills that wash over the island like waves of grass and rock, and as the sun began to rise, all the colors of nature were presented to me.

'I can see now why our home was once called The Emerald Isle…' I quietly said to myself as I stopped for a short breather.

'What was that?' Denver called out as he turned to look at me.

'H-how much further do we have to walk?' I quickly asked as I snapped out of my thoughts.

'Well, for starters we ain't really sure where it is.' Berdan replied, while he kept walking with the girl. 'Young girls aren't exactly the best tour guides while hiking through the night. But I'd reckon we're about two clicks away.'

'So what's the plan? Are we going to use her as bait to kill them?' I asked suspiciously.

'Don't be gettin your cart before your horse now, Xavi. I ain't lookin' for more blood today. I figured now that I know you two are finally clear headed we might as well be good samaritans and deliver this child safely to her parents. I bet they'll be as happy as a sack of puppies when they find her safe and sound. And also possibly a nice meal as a thank you, I could go for some corn on the cob right now.' He said as he sighed.

As we kept walking, my mind wandered once more. This time to the night before, when Denver shot James to save the little girl. I had seen plenty of blood, even for my young age - but I hadn't ever reacted to it the way I did this time.

In training we were told that civilians are prone to go into shock during wartime, and that as soldiers we're trained in a way that protects us from that weakness. They just stop functioning, like a car that's run out of gas - useless. After the captain calmed us down and we made camp that night, both me and Denver cried as we tried to clean our clothes from James' blood.

But it just wouldn't wash off.

Berdan approached us with a handkerchief he pulled out of his uniform vest.

'Here, wash off what you can with this, but don't throw away your clothes now. Tonight will be a cold one and you'll be finding yourself an icicle licketysplit if you don't keep your britchers on.' He said.

While me and Denver sat huddled close to the fire, trying to stay warm in each other's company, I couldn't help but feel that he seemed different. The way he gazed into the fire with his emotionless face I was starting to think he was back on the drug again.

'Are you… OK?' I asked reluctantly. _Obviously he wasn't OK_.

'I still have his brains on my vest, Xavi.' He replied.

'Yeah… but you did the right thing.' I hesitantly said. 'Look I still don't know why this is happening to us. Are we experiencing symptoms to the plague? Can we still get back to the pharmacy and get back to our lives without infecting anyone?'

'There was never no damn plague, ya darn fool.' Berdan said as he sat down next to us. 'It's a load of horseshit, is what it is. You see, during the first uprising to the capitol the soldiers that the president attempted to train for combat kept refusing to fight unarmed civilians. They had to execute more than half of the soldiers due to deserting or treason. It's the only reason the districts ever had a chance - all great empires fall from within, or at least that's what history teaches us.

'Those bastards in the capitol infected everyone on this whole goddamn island just to create willing guinea pigs for this new type of drug that creates ultimate, obedient soldiers.

'How do you know all this, cap?' Denver asked as he listened eagerly, seeming almost human again in his expressions.

'Because I was their first test subject. A long time ago I had a farm with my wife Rose, and my two kids, Ophelia and Jason. The capitol was about to be destroyed by the rebellion when our whole town was called to defend them. My cattle had just died from starvation and my daughter had recently been diagnosed with cancer - so I couldn't refuse their offer. They just told me I was given muscle-stimulants, but after a week I knew what kind of monster I had become.'

He stopped for a moment, trying as hard as he could to remember what his family's faces looked like - what his home looked like.

'I lead a force of 50 men armed with handguns against civilian rebels armed with bows and spears. We didn't care who they were, we were like machines after taking the stimulants for just a few days' He said, looking into the fire.

'It was a massacre. We shot over 1300 starving, malnourished, weak rebels that week.' He didn't sound remorseful, more distanced and emotionless.

He lied down on his back and looked at the stars.

'I did what I had to do - to survive.' He said quietly.

Exhausted by memories, thoughts and emotions, we all three fell in a deep sleep as the fires flickered and eventually were snuffed out.

Part 3: Chapter 2: (Toby)

'Xavi are you OK? Sto-_'_ I snapped out of my daydreaming to Berdan looking me straight into the eyes, nearly headbutting me as I walked straight into him.

'I don't mean to be a bother to you, princess. _However _I do believe we have arrived at our destination, the girl has already ran off to rejoin her family. It's time to go home.'

'Yes sir.' I said, trying to sound enthused. It would be nice to get some rest to recuperate after this.

When we got back home, the three of us decided to lay low for a while. Berdan told us that he took it upon himself to take responsibility for explaining James' death. He said it wouldn't be no big deal as "nobody cares about a grunt disappearing now and then".

As I returned to my quarters to cleanup and get back to everyday life, I noticed the lights flickering, and then suddenly the whole area was dark.

_Just my luck, _I thought to myself. _Guess I'll be having cold beans for dinner._

As soon as I lay down to get some rest, I began to hear voices from beyond.

_Why did you kill me? At least let my kids go. Why are you doing this?_

I couldn't remember their faces, or their names. But I started to remember their last desperate pleas for mercy, which I ultimately denied by shooting them. Criminals, weaklings and deserters I thought.

My perception of reality changed as I fell into a deep sleep. The tough criminal transformed into the baker's daughter who was caught stealing food from the supply storage. The evil deserters transformed into scared children who were hid away by their parents.

I shot them all, again and again. Until I was soaked in blood.

And then I saw my mother. She was terrified.

I was pointing my rifle at her. I didn't know why.

'Please, honey. Don't do this.'

Without knowing why, I pulled the trigger and walked away.

_Wake up._

I woke up to Denver standing in my room, staring at me with those cold, dead eyes.

'Denny?' I called out in the darkness. I reached out to light a candle.

'I can't sleep' He replied. He was carrying his rifle. 'I don't think I can handle these nightmares anymore, Xavi'. He sounded exhausted. As if he hadn't slept for days.

'It's going to be all right, in the morning we'll go to the pharmacy and be rid of these nightmares.'

'Come outside for a moment, Xavi. There's something you need to see'

I dressed and quietly stepped outside my barracks to find a gathering of people.

'What are they doing?' I quietly asked Denver standing next to me.

'They can't sleep either, none of us can. Have you had any nightmares lately, Xavi?'

'I think I killed my mother…' I said, coming to realization of what I had done.

'I fucking shot my whole family' He said angrily. 'I killed them all, and for fucking what? I don't even know.' He lowered his head as if to cry, but then wiped away his tears and looked back at me. 'We can't go back. We have to take revenge.'

'On who, ourselves? We don't know exactly who caused this.' I replied.

'There's been talk of an uprising, there are people who can help us. We have guns, food and medicine. Hell we even have transports. We can help them. Find out who did this to us. Come with us tonight, we're going to see their leader, he has already promised us refuge in exchange for our supplies. They just need weapons and they can overthrow the capitol at any time.'

'What about our captain, is he in on it?' I asked.

'He's the one who planned all this, he's already gone to meet up with them before us.' Without hesitation I agreed to his offer, we gathered our gear and packed a truck full of supplies while keeping quiet as to not wake up those who were still on the drug.

And then we were on our way.

Part 3: Chapter 3 (Toby)

It didn't take long before we arrived to the camp of the resistance. It was difficult to recognize it at first during the nighttime but then it struck me - this was the camp we returned the girl we found earlier.

As we unloaded the truck we were approached by people dressed in rags, carrying torches to light the darkness. A couple of them were also carrying crossbows and hatchets. They looked nervous.

I looked around and made eye contact with an old woman. She looked scared to her bones. I raised my hand to wave at her but she hastily walked away.

'Welcome to our humble abode, soldiers.' a voice said. 'I am Quentin. And this is our home. I hope you can understand our dismay - we're normally used to being shot at by people from your district.' He walked up to me and shook my hand. 'Your captain told me much of you, Xaviera was it?' I politely nodded.

'I'll get right to business. I've already talked with the leaders of the resistance in the other districts, we're making our move tonight as long as we can count on your help. The last time our people tried to overthrow the capitol 30 years ago we were armed with nothing but our fury. This time it will be shock and awe.'

I didn't know what to say or feel, but somehow I think I felt happy for the first time in my life. The haunting memories of my killings seems to have faded, if for a brief moment.

'It's nice to meet you Quentin, we're here to help. I'm sorry we seem distant, most of us have gone through a lot of these past days. I'm still not sure who I am anymore.'

'Look, I'm not here to judge you or your people for past actions, what matters is that you're here now. Thank you for returning Hannah to us. She's my daughter and means the world to me and my wife.'

We didn't have much time to settle in before Quentin called for a gathering to plan our move. At this point I'm just going to have to trust my instincts that I'm for the first time in my life doing the right thing.

As we began planning, Berdan arrived with a truck, supposedly also full of supplies.

'Can't have a party without some good old C4 explosives, can we?' He said with a laugh as he sat down to join us.

Quentin started the meeting by explaining how the resistance had been planning a takeover for years, and that by wiping out the corrupt leaders in one fell swoop would spark the fires of the revolution. 'Every district is fighting together, it's quite remarkable what type of numbers we can muster tonight. I'm sure you've all noticed the power outages in your district, a luxury our people aren't familiar with. You see, we've been testing the capitols power capacities for weeks now and I can finally say that we've found a way to shut down their defenses for the time that we need to slip inside the capitol. Once we turn off their power, their automated defense systems and turrets won't help them. Only one thing will matter then - we have the numbers, the people. With your help we also have the firearms and the transports, it's going to be easy.' Quentin instructed me to lead the assault on the power plant, and went into great detail of when and how we would cooperate with district 3 to sabotage it.

'30 years long gone, I can finally return home to my farm.' Berdan said. 'I'll be sure to make you folks the best god damn cornbread you've ever tasted.'

Quentin and the other leaders of the districts planned further with Berdan.

As more and more people gathered, they started playing music and danced. The air that was once host to fear and regret turned into cheerful laughter and predictions of what the future would have in store for them.

I walked around the camp to enjoy the festivities, even Denver seemed to enjoy himself as he had apparently found a girl to dance with. He looked happy.

I didn't have many happy memories to remember, but I knew this would be one of the first. As the meeting got to a close, Berdan laughed to himself and walked away over to the truck.

It was over before it even started.

The cheerful music and laughter was suddenly replaced by gunfire. Soldiers had been sneaking out of the truck, surrounding the entire camp.

We didn't have any time to react before we were all thrown on the ground, ordered to surrender.

Denver reached for his handgun.

Then he fell to the ground with a shot to the chest.

I watched in horror as every person running was mowed down by automatic gunfire.

Then I heard his voice.

I looked around to spot him walking around talking on a radio.

'See that wasn't so hard, I told you it would pay off to be patient.'

It was Berdan.

'Yes sir, we have all the intel needed to prevent the assault. Yes sir, it will be done.'

They rounded up the remaining survivors of the camp, some mortally wounded.

He approached us while holding his handgun.

'I'm sorry it had to go down this way, Xavi. I knew there was no hope for either of you when you stopped taking your medication. I thought I might as well gather you all at once, saving ammo and all.'

I look away, I can't believe what I'm hearing. The once kind, caretaking man I knew that raised me ever since dad died is a cold-hearted monster.

'I have to do what needs to be done. I've been promoted you see, and in turn I get to reunite with my family. You should be happy for me, Xavi.'

'I'm happy that I finally got a glimpse of what it's like to be human, to feel and to think on my own. So go ahead, do what you need to do.' I reply.

'I also have an offer for you' he says. 'I can bring you with me. We can lead our district to glory, and there's this new pill that works even better than the last one, we can forget all of this ever happened. Please, just think of it. We have a good life in our district, don't throw it all away.'

'I spit on glory, and on you for that matter.' I say as I spit on the ground.

'What a shame.' he says.

I close my eyes.

'I'm ready.' I whisper.

He aims the gun at me.

The haunted screams in my mind of all the people that I've killed are interrupted by my mother's soothing voice.

_Come home, sweetie. You did well. You don't have to fight any longer. They forgive you for all that you've done. Please let go._

And then he shoots.

Part 4: This is the end - Vidar

I had seen many people get shot, some of them up close, some from far away. Some by others but most of them by my own gun. At the time I never thought about how violent and messy it looked. Our rifles packed quite a punch and most of my victims never even reacted to the bullets shredding them to pieces. In my mind it was instantaneous. Berdan probably had the same idea. He left me on the ground as soon as the bullet hit. It didn't feel like I thought it would. It felt like a stone was laying on top of me, a constant pressure on my upper torso. It was warm and wet, which made it difficult to locate the spot where the bullet had hit. All around me was chaos. I heard screams mixed with gunfire. People shouting commands and a weird thumping noise that got louder and louder. It started out very rhythmic but at the end it was erratic and felt very loud. Like a drum inside my chest. As I slipped into the darkness it was all I could hear.

Waking up I was disoriented, confused and very thirsty. I tried to speak but my throat was as dry as sand. My whole body ached and I couldn't move my right arm. I looked down and saw that someone had put a bandage around my collarbone and shoulder. My arm was wrapped close to my body and fastened with a belt. I would recognize Denver's ugly belt at any time of day. He had been punished by the captain on multiple occasions for wearing it while on duty. I never quite understood why the belt was so important to him, especially since it was so ugly. Beige leather with worn wooden studs, well a few studs. Most of them were long gone and all that was left were the holes from where they had been. Right around the buckle the beige leather was discolored from sweat. The whole thing was just ugly and up close it was kind of nasty as well. I tried to get up on my feet but I was far too weak. The attempt drained me of my last ounce of energy and all I could do was lay there in some sort of half-awake state. The last image that flashed before my eyes as I dozed off was that of Denver being shot, all I could see was the look on his face.

I must have been deep asleep, because I was awakened by a soft hit to the back of the head. I was being dragged on the ground by someone. I could hear heavy breathing and footsteps, I was being dragged across the forest floor and it wasn't very pleasant. I had no way of protecting my head from various rocks and roots. I think I hit my head at least 10 more times before we stopped. From the upper right corner of my eye came Hannah, Quentin's young girl.

"Dad! She's awake!" Two hands grab me underneath my arms and pull me to the side. Quentin puts me with my back against a tree and sits down opposite me. "Can you talk?" he asks me. I shake my head and try to make a noise. Nothing comes out. "I've been shot before, never quite as severely as you though. I remember the thirst, here drink some water." Quentin opens a canteen and pours some water in my mouth. It feels so good, the cool refreshing feeling in my mouth and throat.

"What happened?" I asked him.

Quentin took a deep breath and started to explain what had happened.

"We were betrayed, the resistance was destroyed from within. The Capitol's spies had infiltrated the resistance cell we had in district 9. They got a message out, but it didn't reach me in time. The cell in district 9 had all the information needed to end the resistance. They were our source of food, smuggling out what supplies we needed. They knew all of the locations of the resistance. Once the Capitol had that information all they had to do was infiltrate us with treacherous scum like Captain Berdan." Quentin looked tired, distraught and frankly a bit sad but he continued.

"I had hoped on giving my little girl a different life. A free life." He looked at Hannah, who was sitting on a pretty large rock a few yards away. "But now it's over. We are the last three of the resistance. All we had going for us was that they thought that they had gotten us all."

"What do you mean, they thought? Do they know that we are alive?" My heart started beating heavily as I looked at Quentin.

"They were on their way back to the camp, probably to do some cleanup. A couple of trucks and a bulldozer. Maybe two dussin soldiers. We had to move you, you were still alive and we couldn't let them take you. You don't know what they do to traitors. By now they are probably everywhere in these woods looking for us." Quentin smiled. "But they don't know these woods the way I do."

Off in the distance a loud blast was heard. "That was a little present Hannah and I left for them by the stream"

"So what is the plan?" I had to ask, since he was my only hope of survival in my current state.

"Oh there is no plan, they have the woods covered from the air. We are lucky that the canopy is so thick that they can't spot us. If we try to leave, they will kill us. But we have various stashes of explosives all over and we are very good at making traps. If we are going to die, we are not doing it alone." Quentin's face had changed, from tired and worn to that of a madman. He had no intention of trying to get out of there, all he wanted was blood.

"Who patched me up after I was shot?" trying to change the subject into something a bit less insane. "We don't know, we found you like this when we came back to camp" Quentin looked anxious. "We have been here for too long, we have to keep moving. The soldiers are going to find us". He stood up and made a bird like noise and Hannah helped him pull me away from the tree. I didn't want to go with them, they were on a suicide mission. I wanted to go back to camp and bury Denver, maybe find my way out of this mess. I wouldn't be easy, but I was not prepared to die. They started to drag me with them again. I looked back and made eye contact with Hannah. "Just leave me here, i'm slowing you down. Put me over there in the bushes, no one will be able to spot me there." What am I saying, I can't be left alone out here in my state. I'll die. Hannah looked at Quentin, he looked at me. "OK" Quentin looked at Hannah. "Wait over there". He pointed in the direction they were dragging me. He grabbed me under my arms and pulled me over to the bushes and sat down next to me.

"I've looked at your wound, the bullet hit your collarbone which made the bullet bounce and your collarbone to shatter. There are pieces of bone and bullet everywhere. The wound is bad but not life threatening, you've been very lucky. You should be able to walk, might have been the loss of blood and the dehydration making you weak. Here is some water and a few painkillers. Good luck."

Quentin got back up and started walking, soon he was gone.

I drank some of the water, but I saved the painkillers. I would probably fall asleep soon anyway, they would be of better use tomorrow. It didn't take long before I was asleep.

When I woke up it was still dark, but I could hear voices. I could not distinguish any words but it was definitely voices. I tried being as still as possible, hoping that I would go unnoticed. The people were getting closer and now I could hear that it was a status update from a radio. Something about soldiers being wounded by explosives and that the leader of the resistance had been captured with his daughter. All of a sudden I see a pair of boots. Strangely only the one pair, soldiers never patrol alone. I had to see who it was, I probably knew him or her from base. I moved my head slightly and saw a big man with a large beard. It couldn't be. "Denver!" I used all of my strength to roll out from under the bush. He turned and came running over.

"I thought that they had taken you. I was out trying to find something for us to eat, but when I came back you were gone and the camp was full of soldiers" Denver was so excited, I had never seen him so excited.

"But how is this possible? You were shot." I looked at his chest and there were not just one but three bullet holes.

"Have they taught you nothing at the base? Never go on a mission without your body armor." His grin got even bigger. "All I had to do was play dead for a couple of hours and then I got up and patched you up. Then I found this radio and have been listening to their updates since". Denver was very pleased with himself.

"What have they been saying?"

"20 something soldiers dead by various traps in the forest. Captain Berdan called for reinforcements, almost 200 soldiers out here now. Gunships in the air above and drones. They captured the leader, Quentin and his daughter. But before they could be transported back to base they blew themselves up, took out another 15 troopers and their truck. The rest are looking for you and me. To be captured alive." His initial excitement had vanished.

"There is no way out of this, is there Denver?".

"No, they are everywhere and they have the sky. Even if we somehow could avoid capture, they would spot us the moment we leave the forest."

"How do you want to play this then?" I think I already know what he is going to say, but we need to agree to make it work.

"We can at least try and take the Berdan out, that guy knew all along what the Capital was doing to people."

"You're right Denver, he needs to go."

We started walking through the forest, back towards the camp. If the Captain is anywhere in these woods he would be there coordinating the search for us.

It felt like forever but we made our way to the old resistance camp. The place was swarming with soldiers. With the help of the painkillers that Quentin left me I felt almost good. Like I had slept for 12 hours on a feather bed and had a warm meal. We made it all the way back to camp, but the place was swarming with soldiers. They had erected a telt in the middle of the clearing, and from inside the tent, we could hear the captain curse and scream. They kept sending out patrols into the woods and the camp was emptying.

"The Captain is spreading his resources a bit thin." I whispered to Denver who agreed. "There are only about 10 guys left except for what is in that tent." Denver got a mischievous look in his eyes. "All of the soldiers here are rookies, the newbies they recruited last week to fill the gaps. They don't know who we are, and we are still wearing our uniforms. If we act confident enough we can just walk into the tent and finish what we came here for." Denver had never looked as pleased with himself as he did at that moment.

We removed the homemade brace from my arm and covered up the blood with some dirt. It was getting darker outside which made it easier to hide. Then we walked straight through the camp, Denver looked fierce. One of the rookies had the nerve to walk up to him and ask him for his service number. Denver looked at the kid and simply told him that they would have a nice chat back at base if the kid didn't just turn around and leave. Which he did. We made it all the way to the tent. We were just outside and we could still hear the Captain from time to time. Cursing and barking out orders. We slipped through the opening and there he was, unarmed and alone. Sitting in front of a table, looking right at us. "You're late". The Captain looked at Denver. "I have been sitting here at this table for 8 hours without as much as a bathroom break. Where have you been?"

I looked at Denver, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down into one of the chairs. "I had to let her decide when to strike, so she wouldn't be suspicious." His voice changed, his whole demeanor. More robotic, less emotions. "Denver? What have you done?". I looked straight at him, his gaze went through me.

"I told you that the new drug was better than the old one". The Captain stood up and started walking around the table. "Denver got the maximum dosage and he feels fine, better than fine. All he wants to do is serve the Capital" Berdan smiled. "Did you really think that this was going to work? This little uprising, consisting of pathetic simpletons from nowhere. The Capital sees all and hears all."

Berdan took out his radio and called for Insignia Group to come join us in the tent. It felt like the tent had become some sort of hospital, people everywhere and all of them dressed in white medical robes. They grabbed me and strapped me to the table, I tried to resist but I was too weak and they were too many.

"Soon all you'll ever care about is serving the Capital. You will remember none of this and no one will remember what you and your friends attempted here. This story will vanish and you will be an obedient servant to the Capital once more."

As I lay here strapped to this table all I can think about is that for a short period I was myself. I was able to explore my own mind and feel my own feelings. Even though I have done terrible things under the influence of the Capital, I know that that is not who I am. I am a good person who wanted to make things right. "Give her the serum" Berdan's voice cut through the room.

I am a good person and I will serve the Capital, I will eliminate the enemies of Panem and ensure that the country does not fall into chaos. I will follow my orders and do as I am commanded. I am one of the good guys, we will triumph. Panem is everything.


End file.
